The benefits provided by plate and storage cylinder combination systems have been especially well demonstrated by Patents covering inventions in the area of animal feeders and small parts dispensers. While specific embodiments vary, said systems generally provide an essentially horizontally oriented plate which is located vertically below a lower end of an essentially vertically oriented hollow storage cylinder. During use, feed or small parts etc. stored in said essentially vertically oriented hollow storage cylinder can escape therefrom onto said essentially horizontally oriented plate for consumption or collection etc.
Most feeder systems provide that a lower end of an essentially vertically oriented hollow storage cylinder be fixed in relation to an upper surface of an essentially horizontally oriented plate. Said positioning being typically fixed to provide an intended gap length between the lower end of said essentially vertically oriented hollow storage cylinder and the upper surface of said essentially horizontally oriented plate, such that an optimum controlled flow of feed from said essentially vertically oriented hollow storage cylinder is achieved during use, in response to removal of feed present on said essentially horizontally oriented plate. See U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,433,641 to Waite; 2,941,506 to Fulton; 2,789,534 to Landgraf for instance, which describe such systems. Another U.S. Pat. No. 3,136,296 to Luin, describes a varied embodiment of a functionally similar system in which the lower end of an essentially vertically oriented hollow storage cylinder rests upon the upper surface of an essentially horizontally oriented plate. Holes are present in the lower end of the wall of the essentially vertically oriented hollow storage cylinder, however, through which feed can flow during use. In addition, a U.S. Pat. to Nelson, No. 3,085,718 describes a dispensing for small parts in which an essentially vertically oriented hollow storage cylinder is present in relation to an essentially horizontally oriented tray-like plate. The lower end of the essentially vertically oriented hollow storage cylinder is cut so that the wall thereof, on one side thereof, is longer than is the wall on an opposite side thereof. Operation of the Nelson system is by rotation of said essentially vertically oriented hollow storage cylinder so that the short wall thereof becomes oriented with respect to the essentially horizontally oriented tray-like plate so that a part can exit thereinto for collection. It is noted that other Patents, both U.S. and Foreign also describe functionally similar systems.
It should be appreciated that while a number of Patents, such as those surveyed above, describe feed or small part dispensing systems, no reference known to the inventor of the present invention teaches an easy to use dispensing system suitable for use in dispensing food for human consumption, such as nuts and jelly beans etc. The present invention provides an aesthetically attractive dispensing system for said use.